Robert Donnachie (1952–2000), known under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

of Robert Rental, was a British pioneer of the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

scene in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Biography

Originally from

Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, he moved to the south of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with

Thomas Leer Thomas Leer (born Thomas Wishart, 1953, Port Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish musician. He has released a number of albums and singles as a solo artist, and was also one half (the other being Claudia Brücken) of the 1980s electropop band Act (ba ...

in the late 1970s, and became involved with the local music scene. Robert Rental however released very little of his solo music, preferring to collaborate with

, as well as with Daniel Miller (as

The Normal The Normal is the recording artist name used by English music producer Daniel Miller, a film editor at the time, who is best known as the founder of the record label Mute Records. Background In 1977, Miller had split up with his girlfriend. A ...

). The only commercially-released solo recording from the 1970s is the

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

"Paralysis" first released on the homemade ''Regular Records'', then re-released on Company Records in 1978. "Paralysis" was recorded at home on a 4 track Tascam tape recorder which he hired in collaboration with Leer. The single features the distorted sound of a Stylophone. Another distinctive sound that Rental used was that of the EDP Wasp Synthesizer, which he introduced to Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle and William Bennett of

Whitehouse Whitehouse may refer to: People * Charles S. Whitehouse (1921-2001), American diplomat * Cornelius Whitehouse (1796–1883), English engineer and inventor * E. Sheldon Whitehouse (1883-1965), American diplomat * Elliott Whitehouse (born 1993), ...

. He also made an acclaimed album with

called ''The Bridge'' which was released on Throbbing Gristle's

Industrial Records Industrial Records is a record label established in 1976 by industrial music and visual arts group Throbbing Gristle. The group created the label primarily for self-releases but also signed several other groups and artists. The label gave a nam ...

. The album reached number 9 on the Independent Chart in 1980. His other two official releases were the 1980 single "Double Heart/On Location", released on Daniel Miller's

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

, and ''Live At The West Runton Pavilion'', recorded with Miller in 1979, and released via Rough Trade in 1980. Robert Rental toured with Daniel Miller as The Normal, supporting

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...

. Miller had met Rental through a

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter (British musician), Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pi ...

concert."Daniel Miller Interview"
accessed 4 March 2010 Robert Rental died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in 2000.

Discography

Albums

*''Mental Detentions'' (limited demo album, with

on unspecified tracks) (1979), independent release *

& Robert Rental – ''The Bridge'' (1979),

* Robert Rental &

– ''Live at West Runton Pavilion, 6-3-79'' (1980), Rough Trade * Robert Rental - "Different Voices For You. Different Colours For Me. Demos 1980",

Optimo Music Optimo Espacio ('Optimum Space') was a weekly Sunday-night club based in Glasgow, Scotland at the Sub Club on Jamaica Street, as well as a collective moniker for the night's resident DJ duo. Having run every week since it was founded in 1997, on ...

* Robert Rental & Glenn Wallis – "Untitled LP"

Dark Entries "Dark Entries" is a song by the English gothic rock band Bauhaus, released as a stand-alone single in January 1980 by Axis (an early name for 4AD) and later issued on 4AD and Beggars Banquet. It features the 1944 painting '' Sleeping Venus'' b ...

Singles

* "Paralysis" (1978), Regular Records * "Paralysis" (1978), Company Records * "Double Heart" / "On Location" (1980),

* "Thomas Leer / Robert Rental" – Splash Momentum / The Waltz Of The Fatman

Electronic Sound ''Electronic Sound'' is the second studio album by English rock musician George Harrison. Released in May 1969, it was the last of two LPs issued on the Beatles' short-lived Zapple record label, a subsidiary of Apple Records that specialised in ...

References

External links

Article
about Robert Rental at the archives of gutterbreakz.blogspot.com, scroll down.
Review
of the live album in collaboration with The Normal
Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rental, Robert 1952 births 2000 deaths British industrial musicians British experimental musicians Deaths from lung cancer People from Port Glasgow Mute Records artists 20th-century British musicians Industrial Records artists